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UX Design Trends 2022 (And The Future Of UX…) - read the full article about game development trends, Game Development and from CareerFoundry on Qualified.One
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Glass morphism, new color palettes foams, and other design hype is not what well well be talking about today in this video, well talk about the real topics that impact the future of UX.
My name is Maureen.
I have been working as a product designer for the past four years.
And in this video, Ill share the five key areas that I believe will have a big impact on our industry in the coming years.
Before we start with the video, let me explain to you why I think its important to focus on these five areas.
One of the things that excite me the most about working in UX is that our industry is constantly changing and evolving.
And apart from that, working as a UX designer also means that youre very close to emerging technologies, technologies that will change the way that people perceive and experience the world.
And this also changed the way that.
To design solutions for these people.
I want to introduce you to five topics that I think will have a big impact on our industry as well as the world in the next five to 10 years.
So lets dive right in.
One area that I see really developing in the coming years is extended reality.
And with that, of course, I mean, augmented reality and virtual reality, the impact of design right now already goes beyond the screen, just to think about, for example, delight.
Yeah, that is just a feature and a product, but it already has a really big impact on our social lives.
Or what do you think of Snapchat or Instagram filters that change someones appearance.
So subtly that you almost dont see it.
These are just small examples of how our reality is changing, but with new technologies like AR and VR, the impact will be even.
What I mean with extended reality are technologies like augmented reality or virtual reality, augmented reality as a technology that adds digital components to, or real world reality.
Whereas virtual reality completely immerses you in a different reality.
So its a completely different world that youll find yourself in with extended reality.
I also mean technologies like.
Spatial and augmented audio as well as the internet.
So, for example, holograms smart fridges or smart lightening, and with spatial and augmented audio, we mean immersive soundscapes.
If this note technologies excite you, but also worry you or even scare you, then that is completely understandable.
And that is one more reason to make sure that we stay up to date with these new technologies.
First of all, extended reality will usually impact the way that we.
Because we wont only be designing for 2d screens, like our desktop or laptop or mobile phone like were doing now, but we will also be designing 3d spaces where gesture, audio and hat sets play a role on top of that devices and thus experience.
Well be more linked with each other.
The benefits of extended reality are easy to spot.
You have a way more immersed experience when youre gaming is easier to meet your friends that live around the globe.
Extended reality can also help professions like doctors and teachers perform their job better, especially in a remote environment.
However, its not just exciting.
To live in a scifi world.
It also comes with some important questions that we have to ask ourselves.
How will extended reality impact or environment, how will AR and VR impact or mental health will these technologies be accessible and inclusive? And what does it mean when big companies like.
Book work on these new technologies.
What are their incentives on to area number two, which is kind of linked to extended reality.
And Im talking about AI or artificial intelligence, AI, our artificial intelligence is an umbrella term for all kinds.
Computer generated intelligence today, we have what we call weak AI, even though this AI is far from weak, this kind of weak AI focuses on performing a specific task.
For example, driverless cars or smartphone, voice assistance.
For example, Siri on an iPhone in the future, we can expect AI to go up a level and reach what we call artificial general intelligence.
Real examples of this dont really exist yet, but this kind of AI would equal human intelligence and would be able to have a self-aware consciousness that can solve problems, learn and plan for the future.
Artificial super intelligence would surpass the intelligence and ability of the human brain, but this doesnt exist yet examples of weak or narrow AI can already be found in our industry today as well in our industry.
We already use AI tools today, for example, to remove backgrounds from images or to enhance images.
To generate color palettes that are based on our personal tastes or to create portraits from fictional people for our personas of field, where AI can be of big help for us is user research and information architecture.
For example, we can use AI to generate via frames based on best practices from.
Or we can use AI for user testing.
So instead of having real people testing our designs, we can have an AI checking for any kind of usability problems, tools that use AI for you as a testing already exists today.
For example, a tool that uses heat maps or generates heat maps based on the designs that you feel.
For example, zero that generates heat maps based on the wireframes that you update.
This tool is a really good cost saving way to get some of your ideas already tested before you test them with real users.
One important thing to keep in mind is that computer intelligence or AI isnt new to.
It always has the biases of the people that develop this AI.
AI is biased too.
And can definitely also discriminate.
For example, there were multiple incidents of an AI that only recognized light-skinned people, because it was only trained to recognize light-skinned people as well be helping to support building AI and train AI.
We have to be aware of our own bias.
How can we make sure that we create an AI that is not discriminating other groups of people up next Ill discuss web 3.0 and the metaphors.
Now what weve talked about, extended reality and artificial intelligence, we of course also need to talk about the matter first.
And this is something that you mightve already heard because it was a big news item in 2020.
Lets talk a little bit about the internet and where the internet is heading.
When you think about how far the internet has come and developed in the past 30 to 40 years, its quite staggering.
When you think back to 1990, no one was online shopping and now the majority of internet users has some kind of experience with it.
The foundation of the internet was created by public institutions like governor.
And universities.
And the reason was that they had to resources to set up a structure like that the internet was built as a way to share information and to make books and other information available for the public electronically.
Back in the day, only very few people created content that was consumed by the majority of internet users.
Nowadays of course has completely different.
A lot of people generate.
So the internet has changed from a place where most people were passive users that would just read information or bulletin boards.
And now were at a place where everyone can create content.
And a lot of people are not only passive readers, but also active content creators.
So in a sense, the internet has become way more interactive the internet, as we know what now is at a tipping point, it is a communication tool, but it is no longer built by only public institutions like governments and universities, but still the internet doesnt belong completely to the users because content creators.
Still dependent on big companies like YouTube or Facebook, but that will change with the coming of web 3.0 as the internet will become a more decentralized place.
So what do I mean with web three point? Oh, thats pretty hard to say because there are many definitely.
And were not completely in that new era of internet.
An example of decentralization is the blockchain, which already exists today.
So we are already experiencing the starts of web 3.0.
Now what does this mean for UX designers? The important thing that we have to keep in mind is this decentralization parts data will not be in the hands of big companies or public institutions.
But well be managed by us on the blockchain and this could lead to a more secure and transparent environment.
So how does all of this link back to artificial intelligence? We have 3.0 is the next stage of the internet that would make the internet even more intelligent or process information with near human, like intelligence through the power of AI systems.
AI systems could run smart.
To assist users.
So now lets talk about something that brings all of this together that we discussed before.
And that is the matter of.
The amount of hers is an example that brings together virtual reality and a decentralized internet, just like web 3.0, there also isnt a universal definition of what the metaverse is.
Some people described the matter verse as a collection of.
3d worlds.
Whereas others described the matter first as a collection of interconnected worlds that also link back to the real world.
As we know it today, lets go with the definition of Facebook or us.
They now are known Matta.
Matta describes the matter, offers a set of virtual spaces where you can meet and explore with other people that arent in the same physical space as you.
And what is also important to mention here is that Facebook isnt the only company that is working on building a matter of verse.
You also have other companies like APIC or roadblocks that are building their own models.
And their own way.
So as you can see, there are a lot of exciting things happening in the tech world, but also in our own UX industry, there are some really interesting developments happening that I believe will have a profound impact on our profession.
In the coming years.
Lets talk about a topic that is very close to my heart, and that is UX maturity and company.
So, what do I mean with UX maturity, UX maturity measures the capability and desirability of companies to deliver user centered design from my own experience, as well as what I hear from other people in the industry is that the UX maturity is still pretty low in a lot of companies.
And what I mean with that is that a lot of companies are still pretty unfamiliar.
With design practices or with UX design.
That also means that a lot of people might not understand what UX design is or why it is valuable.
So how does that link back to our job right now? The role of a UX designer is still one where we also have to teach people about our profession and why U X design is worth investing in.
So a big.
Offer role is also evangelizing and teaching other peoples our processes and methods.
Now the good news is that UX design will play an increasing role in companies in the coming years.
And so I believe that the maturity will develop into a more maintaining role where we have to make sure that the understanding of us.
Its not only there, but its also capped and maybe even develop stronger.
So how can you help to improve the UX maturity in your company? First of all, I recommend you learn how to use quantitative data alongside qualitative data to help you prove your designs and designers.
Second, try to understand business objectives and try to understand how UX and business go hand in hand and can support each other.
And lastly, actively collaborate and cook.
With non-designers in your team and make them part of your process.
These are some tips that will help you grow the UX maturity in your company.
And thus also create an understanding of user experience and how to build a stronger user experience.
We talked about UX maturity, but there are also other things that are changing in our personal lives.
And Im talking about a new way of working in 2020, remote working and working from home became a thing.
And now it is pretty much accepted or normal that you work from a different.
Then your office.
We adjusted to having meetings over zoom, and we also set up our whole workstation on the kitchen table as time passed by.
We all got some kind of soon fatigue and probably a little bit of back pain from still working at that kitchen table.
So how will this change in the coming years? Well, we all go back to the.
Oh, will we turn our homes and to professional officers? The problem is that when we started working from home in 2020, we didnt adapt to a new way of working.
We were just doing the same work routines at a different place.
For example, we were still following linear work schedules that may not be that suitable for working from home.
Is it really realistic to expect people to be really productive for eight hours a day while they have kids pets and household to take care of.
And 2021, we still saw quite a lot of companies that were keen on getting their employees, going back to the.
As soon as they couldnt, what also makes working remotely increasingly easier is no code tools in the industry.
We already use quite a lot of no code tools.
For example, fake ma wet flow or notion with no code.
I mean, the name already said.
Tools that dont require coding skills.
And this also influences the skillset of the future UX designer.
Maybe at some point, the soft skills become more important than hard skills because we will have the tools that make the work easier for us.
Will the coming years lead us into true remote working, but flexible working on.
For remote policies, better balance between focus, time and meeting time.
That might well be because the designers set the trend and that is something that you already see now, but that I believe will become even stronger in the coming years.
And what I mean with that is that designers are high in demand.
So we also have the chance to make some of those.
When we are looking for a new job role, that means we no longer have to put up with inflexible work schedules or work that doesnt fit our lifestyle.
For example, if you have a family or you have long community, No with designers being high in demand and not a thing becomes increasingly important.
And that is having a personal brand, a personal brand is your online persona.
Who are you? But even more important.
What do you stand for? What are your beliefs and values and what is it that you want to be known for? Whats your expertise.
Developing a personal brand also helps you with networking and building a reputation in the industry.
So weve discussed quite a lot.
Weve discussed extended reality, the future of.
The future of our industry and also the future of working now, how does all of this link back to your role as a UX designer, as a UX designer? Youre a change maker, as I already told you before, the maturity of UX is quite low in a lot of companies.
So you will need to bring a lot of emphasis.
Into companies and empathy comes from understanding the world around you.
And that is why it is so important to keep up to date with what is going on in our industry.
And also in the tech world.
In general, we work in a digital field that evolves very fast.
Now you dont have to become a matter of first expert or an AI programmer, but it is important that you understand the complications.
Implications of these new technologies.
So how do you stay up-to-date I hope that this video already gave you a bit of an entrance.
But of course now its up to you and I recommend that you connect with peers that you follow news outlets like wired or the verge, or maybe even start watching the evening news, what your parents, you might learn an interesting thing or two.
No, of course the things I talked about are the things that I believe will have a big impact on our industry, in the coming.
But now I really want to know where do you think the future of UX is heading? Is there anything that I overlooked and not you like to add? Or is there anything that you dont agree with at all? So lets start a discussion and leave your thoughts in the comments.
If you want to have a summary of all the things that I talked about in this video, then check out the career Foundry blog.
We have written an article with all these exciting developments that are coming up.
You can find the link in the description.
I really hope you liked this video.
And if you want to see more videos with me talking about UX, you can hit this button here to subscribe to this channel.
Thank you so much for watching and Ill see you next time.
CareerFoundry: UX Design Trends 2022 (And The Future Of UX…) - Game Development